


those arms saved my life

by ohjustpeachy



Series: Tony Stark Bingo Fills [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canadian Shack, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Getting Together, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24631642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohjustpeachy/pseuds/ohjustpeachy
Summary: It takes Tony nearly getting hypothermia to tell Steve how he feels, but it's fine, it's worth it.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo Fills [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601260
Comments: 12
Kudos: 234
Collections: Team Fluff, Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	those arms saved my life

**Author's Note:**

> For the Tony Stark bingo square T3: Sharing body heat (#3049, peachy) and Steve Tony Games square I3: Huddling for warmth

It was never supposed to start snowing. That’s where the trouble started. If it hadn’t, Tony’s suit would have been just fine, and Steve wouldn’t have heard Natasha, her voice crackling over the comms line, yelling, “Stark’s in free fall. Something’s wrong with the suit, I don’t think JARVIS is responsive. Steve, you have to do something.”

Steve, always first to spring into action on a call like that, is silent for a beat too long, because Natasha speaks again, her voice urgent but lower now, trying to get through to him. “Steve. It’s okay, he’ll be okay. But you have to move. _Now_.” 

So he had, racing after the suit as it fell with alarming speed to the ground, and calling out to Tony, even if, in all likelihood, he couldn’t hear him. He just had to know Steve was coming. 

“Fall backwards, I'll catch you!”

By some miracle, he does. 

*

They make it to the safe house by the skin of their teeth. It’s small, with a threadbare rug, a thin mattress that has long since seen better days, and a couch that looks worn but usable. Steve lets Tony down gently on the couch before stepping back and surveying the space. There’s only the one room, a pile of firewood that looks too damp to be of any use, and a sink. At the very least they’ll have water until someone can get to them. 

When he rejoins Tony on the couch, he’s shaking, soaked all the way through, and Steve lets instinct take over as he slips onto the couch beside him, pulling Tony to him and wrapping his arms around him tightly. He runs his hands over Tony’s arms, up and down, as quickly as he can in an attempt to draw enough friction to warm him up. Tony’s only half awake, exhaustion taking over, but he manages to smile weakly up at Steve. Despite everything, Steve feels his chest tighten like it always does when Tony smiles at him like that. Like it’s all so _simple_. But for Steve, the way Tony keeps drawing in closer, fingers finding purchase in the fabric of his shirt, this is far from simple. 

“‘S’more your thing,” Tony says. 

“What is?”

“Frozen superhero. Capsicle. The whole thing.”

“I hardly want that to be my _thing_ , Tony,” Steve says, affronted. 

“Wasn’t making fun, Cap. Tony’s eyes are still closed, his hands fisted in Steve’s shirt. It’s piteously thin given their circumstances, but it’s not like Steve knew what he was getting into when he chose an undershirt that morning. He tries to focus on Tony’s words and not the position they’re currently in, Tony curled in close and shivering against him, clutching onto him like his life depends on it. Steve tightens his hold on him. They just have to make it through another hour or two, and then Tony could go to medical and get into an actual _bed_ , ideally one with far more blankets than they have now. 

“I Gotta say,” Tony mumbles, then goes quiet for a beat.

“What’s that?” Steve asks.

“I pictured this a little differently,” Tony says quietly. His breath is still coming in shallow gasps, and Steve moves a hand over to the light of the arc reactor, reassuring himself. They’ll get Tony warm enough and he’ll be fine. And he has to be fine because he has to explain what he means by _picturing this differently_. 

“You… pictured nearly freezing to death in the wilderness?” Steve was going for a joke, a lame attempt at lightening the mood, but the words hang heavy in the air between them. 

Tony shuffles himself closer, forcing his eyes open until they find Steve’s for the briefest of moments before fluttering shut again. “Well, not this _exactly_ ,” he admits. “But you, here, close like this. S’nice.”

Steve feels his body go rigid at the confession. Maybe Tony isn’t just cold and tired, maybe he’d hit his head on the way down, too. It was possible, honestly. 

“No, no, don’t get weird on me, Bomb Pop. We can pretend I never said anything, alright?”

“No! I—”

Steve might be imagining things, but he’s fairly sure he feels Tony’s heart rate pick up in the few moments of silence. It gives him the push he needs to keep going. 

“I pictured it too,” Steve says in a rush. “Not _this_ , of course, but us. Together. Somewhere a lot nicer than this. No risk of hypothermia required.”

Tony smiles again, tugs Steve impossibly closer. “I’m gonna hold you to that, you know,” he says. 

“You better.”

*

“Yeah, this is nice,” Tony says, throwing an arm across Steve’s chest and rolling over to him. They’re laying in Steve’s bed on a Saturday morning, wrapped around each other amid the sheets and discarded blankets. It’s been just over a month since their day in the safe house, but with the way the light is spilling in through the windows, washing through Tony’s hair in golden waves, it feels lifetimes away. 

“It is,” Steve agrees. “Though I’d argue it’s a little better than _nice_.” 

“Hmm, point. I was right, by the way,” Tony adds, like he always does. But Steve smiles, pretends like he’s never heard it before. “This is _way_ better without the risk of hypothermia.” 

Tony loves to tell and retell the story of his rescue, adding more embellishing details every time. One line does stay the same, though, and it’s the same thing Tony crows when the rest of the team complains about their near-incessant affection: “ _These arms saved my life!”_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i'm omg-just-peachy on tumblr, come say hi!


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